UNITED NATIONS: April 18: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday called for a “long-term global response” to deal with climate change, along with unified efforts warning that countries’ lack of access to water, energy and other essentials can lead to conflict.

Addressing the Security Council’s open debate on energy, security and climate, Mr Ban pointed to recent UN evidence showing not only that the planet’s warming is unequivocal but also that its impact is clearly noticeable, and “beyond doubt that human activities have been contributing considerably to it.”

“I firmly believe that today, all countries recognise that climate change, in particular, requires a long-term global response, in line with the latest scientific findings, and compatible with economic and social development,” he said.

“Adverse effects are already felt in many areas, including agriculture and food security; oceans and coastal areas; biodiversity and ecosystems; water resources; human health; human settlements; energy, transport and industry; and extreme weather events,” he said.

Qatar’s Ambassador, Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, said international efforts to address climate change had failed so far because the problem had become completely separated from the issue of development. “We firmly believe that any successful solution to the climate change problem must emerge as part of an integrated approach to sustainable development,” he said.

However, Pakistan's representative Farukh Amil, speaking for the G-77, said the issue of climate change did not belong in the Security Council, but rather in the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Sustainable Development, and in the Climate Change Convention.